SOURCE OF HEALTH-CARE FOR MILITARY DEPENDENTS WITH CYSTIC-FIBROSIS

Health care to military dependents with cystic fibrosis (CF) may be co mpromised by lack of consistency. Civilian centers provide an alternat ive for care. A reliable count of dependents with CF is unknown. We su rveyed 196 military treatment facilities (MTFs) to obtain data on depe ndents with CF and compared it with data from the National CF Registry . Seventy-seven percent of the MTFs responded and 143 patients were id entified. Registry data identified 373 CHAMPUS patients at 82 civilian centers. There were 284 patients in the Registry only and 54 patients in the MTF survey only. Eighty-nine patients were identified through both data sources. A total of 427 patients were identified. Under curr ent CHAMPUS reorganization plans, MTFs will serve as ''gateways'' for funding of specialized civilian care. Thus, the influx of these and ot her chronically ill children into the MTF may tax the resources and ca pabilities of these facilities.